Puccini: Tosca
Teatro alla Scala, 7th December 2019
A stone lion pins down its prey in Scarpia’s study, symbolic, no doubt, of the cat-and-mouse game the Chief of Police plays with Tosca in Act 2. But it could also represent the cast in Davide Livermore’s new production of the “shabby little shocker” to open the season at the Teatro alla Scala, crushed under the weight of a stylish but gargantuan staging that demands the spotlight. And with Riccardo Chailly keen to shine fresh light on Puccini’s score, reinstating the 1900 “Urtext”, it wasn’t always an easy night for the singers to shine.
Anna Netrebko (Tosca)
© Marco Brescia & Rudy Amisano | Teatro alla Scala
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